Copyright Office
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AIPLA Submits Comments to US Copyright Office Regarding Deferred Registration Examination Study
January 24, 2022
On January 24, 2022, the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the United States Copyright Office pursuant to the Notice of Inquiry related to the deferred registration examination study. The comments address perceived deficiencies in the current registration regime, benefits and drawbacks to offering a deferred examination option, legal or regulatory framework, filing fees, and more. -
AIPLA Submits Comments to U.S. Copyright Office Pursuant to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Related to CASE Act Regulations
November 10, 2021
On November 10, 2021, AIPLA submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office pursuant to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) related to CASE Act regulations. Comments provided included support for requiring claimants to provide contact information in the initial notice form and support for charging filing fees for counterclaims. A staggered fee structure was again suggested, and support was provided for an initial notice in a form that includes information required by the statute and additional basic information. An opt-out mechanism for claimants who receive a counterclaim was not supported, and concern was expressed regarding implementation of a mechanism whereby a respondent who has opted out of a CCB proceeding can change their mind and opt back in.
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AIPLA Submits Comments on Notification of Inquiry Regarding Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (“CASE”) Act Regulations
April 26, 2021
On April 26, 2021, AIPLA submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office on Notification of Inquiry regarding Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (“CASE”) Act Regulations. As a general matter, AIPLA believes that it is important to keep the procedures as straight forward and accessible as possible to ensure this will be a new, simple, and low-cost process to resolve small copyright claims. AIPLA encourages the Copyright Claims Board to publish standardized forms and instructions. Additionally, AIPLA is in favor of providing a Second Notice through the U.S. Postal Service. For ease of delivery, AIPLA is in favor of a Designated Agent directory. Online submission of opt-out notices should be encouraged, but a paper option is also recommended. To strike an appropriate balance of discovery, AIPLA recommends that the CCB require a standardized, initial disclosure of relevant information. -
Comments Submitted Pursuant to Sovereign Immunity Study: Notice and Request for Public Comment, 85 Fed. Reg. 34,252
September 2, 2020
AIPLA's comments in response to the above-referenced U.S. Copyright Office Notice and Request for Public Comment, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Allen v. Cooper, 140 S.Ct. 994 -
Comments to Copyright Office on Registration Modernization
June 1, 2020
AIPLA supports and appreciates the Copyright Office’s efforts to modernize the copyright registration system. -
Recommendations on the Position of Register of Copyrights
March 23, 2020
AIPLA discusses the traits the association views as essential for the position of Register of Copyrights. -
Comments to Copyright Office Pursuant to Notification of Inquiry Regarding Online Publication
March 23, 2020
In AIPLA’s view, issues and confusion regarding “online” publication arise from the statute itself. If such issues are to be resolved, we believe that this is best done by Congress. -
Re: Comments Submitted Pursuant to “Notification of Inquiry,” 83 Fed. Reg. 52336 (Oct. 17, 2018)
October 17, 2018
The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is pleased to offer comments in response to the United States Copyright Office (the “Office”) Notification of Inquiry, 83 Fed. Reg. 52336, issued October 17, 2018, concerning various proposed efforts to modernize the registration process (NOI). -
AIPLA Comments Submitted Pursuant to "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Copyright Office Fees," September 21, 2018
September 21, 2018
While AIPLA recognizes the Copyright Office’s right and need to increase its fees periodically—and further recognizes that any proposed fee increase will ordinarily be met with some degree of reluctance by those incurring the increased expense—some of the Office’s proposed fee increases here raise certain questions and concerns for AIPLA members that we would like to bring to your attention. -
AIPLA Comments Submitted Pursuant to Request for Additional Comments Regarding Section 512 Study
February 21, 2017
Although the mechanisms of Section 512 are used now more than ever, many stakeholders believe the system can be improved substantially, and in a variety of ways that reflect the “great diversity among the categories of content creators and ISPs who comprise the Internet ecosystem.” -
AIPLA Comments on IT Modernization Plan
March 31, 2016
AIPLA supports funding the Copyright Office’s modernization efforts, including the goals reflected in the IT Plan, through a blend of fees for services and dedicated appropriated dollars. -
Comments Submitted Pursuant to Request for Comments Regarding “Mass Digitization Pilot Program,”
October 9, 2015
The American Intellectual Property Law Association (“AIPLA”) is pleased to have the opportunity to present its views on the above-referenced U.S. Copyright Office request for comments regarding “Mass Digitization Pilot Program,” 80 Fed. Reg. 32614 (June 9, 2015). -
AIPLA Comments Submitted Pursuant to Notice of Inquiry Regarding "Copyright Protection for Certain Visual Works,"
July 23, 2015
AIPLA believes the ease of unauthorized copying online is a major challenge to the licensing of visual works. -
AIPLA Comments Submitted Pursuant to Notices of Inquiry Entitled “Orphan Works and Mass Digitization; Request for Additional Comments and Announcement of Public Roundtables,”
May 21, 2014
The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is pleased to submit these comments in response the above-referenced Notices of Inquiry concerning the Office’s ongoing assessment of orphan works and mass digitization. -
AIPLA Comments on Notice of Inquiry Regarding "Technological Upgrades to Registration and Recordation Functions"
May 20, 2013
The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is pleased to offer the following comments concerning the U.S. Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry regarding “Technological Upgrades to Registration and Recordation Functions” published in the March 22, 2013, issue of the Federal Register, 78 Fed. Reg. 17722. -
AIPLA Comments Submitted Pursuant to Notice of Inquiry Regarding "Orphan Works and Mass Digitization"
February 4, 2013
The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is pleased to offer comments in response to the U.S. Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry entitled “Orphan Works and Mass Digitization” (the “NOI”), as published in the October 22, 2012 issue of the Federal Register. 77 Fed. Reg. 64555. -
AIPLA Comments on Remedies for Small Copyright Claims
January 16, 2012
AIPLA applauds efforts by Congress and the Copyright Office to ensure that copyright owners of all kinds–large and small–have the ability to effectively protect their rights in their works. -
AIPLA Comments to DMCA Rulemaking Regarding Exemptions to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies
February 2, 2009
AIPLA agrees that, for certain classes of work, exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's ("DMCA") anti-circumvention provisions are warranted. -
Comments Submitted Pursuant to Notice of Inquiry to Examine Issues Raised by “Orphan Works”
May 8, 2005
AIPLA agrees that difficulties in identifying and locating the owners of copyright in some “orphan works” present a genuine problem, and that society would benefit from greater access to such works.
Recent Advocacy
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AIPLA Issues Letter in Support of Deborah Robinson's Nomination to be the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator
September 15, 2023
On September 14, 2023, The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Deborah Robinson’s nomination to be the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC). In view of her impressive background, AIPLA believes Ms. Robinson will be highly successful in this role and appreciates the Judiciary Committee giving this nomination prompt consideration. -
AIPLA Files Amicus Brief with Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC
September 5, 2023
Arlington, VA. August 29, 2023 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) filed an amicus brief with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in support of neither party in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC, a case that the Federal Circuit agreed to rehear en banc in June 2023. The case concerns the test for obviousness for design patents and whether the Supreme Court’s decision in KSR (which involved a utility patent) overrules or abrogates the current Rosen-Durling framework. -
AIPLA Comments to USPTO on DOCX Submission Requirements
August 21, 2023
Arlington, VA. August 7, 2023 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on their estimated burden calculations regarding DOCX submission requirements.
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AIPLA Comments on Determining Whether a Claim Element is Well-Understood, Routine, Conventional for Purposes of Subject Matter Eligibility ("Berkheimer Memorandum")
August 13, 2018
AIPLA applauds the Office for publishing the Memorandum to promote uniform application of the guidance provided by the Federal Circuit in Berkheimer v. HP Inc. While we find the Memorandum to be helpful, we have a few suggestions on how it might be improved. -
AIPLA Comments on Changes to the Trademark Rules of Practice to Mandate Electronic Filing
July 25, 2018
AIPLA supports the Trademark Office’s efforts to streamline and increase the end-to-end electronic trademark filing program via the electronic filing mandate. AIPLA recognizes the benefits and efficiencies that electronic filing provides, not the least of which is faster prosecution time for pending trademark applications. -
AIPLA Comments on the Changes to the Claim Construction Standard for Interpreting Claims in Trial Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
July 9, 2018
As indicated in the Notice, the Office has proposed to change the claim construction standard for AIA trials from the broadest reasonable interpretation (“BRI”) standard to the Phillips standard. Phillips v. AWH Corp.,415 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc). -
Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., U.S., No. 17-1229, amicus brief supporting a petition for certiorari, filed 3/30/2018.
March 30, 2018
The Federal Circuit failed to give effect to a revision of the “on sale” doctrine made by the America Invents Act (AIA) which imposed a “public availability” requirement not only on the fact of an early sale but also on the subject matter of the sale, i.e., the “claimed invention,” according to an AIPLA amicus brief supporting a petition for Supreme Court review. -
AIPLA Comments on the Draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Relating to Civil or Commercial Matters
March 19, 2018
Consistent with that defined mission, AIPLA strongly encourages the U.S. to advocate for the exclusion of intellectual property from the scope of the Draft Convention. -
Booking B.V. v. The United States Patent and Trademark Office, 4th Cir., No. 17-2459, amicus brief filed 3/19/2018.
March 19, 2018
The Patent and Trademark Office has incorrectly interpreted the Lanham Act as requiring an award of attorneys' fees, win or lose, to the agency in district court proceedings reviewing decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. -
Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in Support of the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act
March 13, 2018
The American Intellectual Property Law Association along with the Intellectual Property Owners Association and the International Trademark Association submitted a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, which seeks to implement the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. AIPLA welcomes this important proposed reform and urges its prompt consideration. -
WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp., U.S., No. 16-1011, amicus brief filed 3/5/2018.
March 5, 2018
A damages award for infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(f) should include foreign lost profits when the harm was proximately caused by domestic infringement, AIPLA argued in a Supreme Court brief filed March 5, 2018.